Foresight has been active in the Asian region since 1978 with programs in Bangladesh, China, Sri Lanka, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste and Vietnam.

Solomon Islands

Foresight’s commitment to the Solomons began in 1995 and continues to focus on education, training, provision of equipment and infrastructure development for a sustainable eye program.

Foresight

• has funded the initial vocational training in ophthalmology of 2 local doctors
• assisted Dr John Hue in his training to become the Solomons’ first ophthalmologist through local training and skills transfer in the Solomons and near island nations
• responded to the severely damaged Gizo Hospital caught in the devastation of the 2007 tsunami, allocating funding for an equipment upgrade and refurbishment of the Eye Clinic.

Foresight is the lead agency, with Vision 2020 Australia partners in the AusAID funded program to upgrade the Solomon Islands NRH Eye Unit.

Timor-Leste

Timor-Leste’s infrastructure was almost completely destroyed in the violence that followed the vote for independence in 1999 — which also left the country without a viable health care workforce.

In response, Foresight initiated a program to address the critical burden of blindness. Foresight continues to play a vital role in The East Timor Eye Program (ETEP), with a goal to make the nation self-sufficient in the provision of eye care by 2015 — and eradicate preventable blindness by 2020.

Foresight has

• trained local doctors and health workers in surgical skills
• financially supported East Timor’s first Ophthalmologist, Dr. Marcellino Coreia, to complete his training.
• developed infrastructure including installing air-conditioning, lasers and microscopes for clinical and surgical care
• positioned Dili as a centre of training for ophthalmology and eye health workers

We are introducing a Pediatric Ophthalmology service program — starting in 2010.

Early intervention program for children

Vitamin A deficiency, linked to poverty, can damage the developing cornea and lead to irreversible blindness in children. Foresight’s prevention programs include Under 5s Clinics. These provide vitamin supplements and immunization for children and empower young mothers with nutrition education.

Without urgent intervention, childhood cataract and other eye diseases place children at risk of a lifetime of blindness. Early diagnosis and a quick response are vital to save a child’s sight. Foresight is creating community based education programs for health workers to identify children at risk and facilitating access to the expert care of Pediatric Ophthalmologists.